Money isn’t everything: Bellerín

Hector Bellerín says there’s more to football than just spending money, and thinks there are other ways to build a team to be successful

By Dan Critchlow
Daily Cannon

Speaking to the International Business Times after Arsenal’s 3-0 win over AFC Bournemouth, Bellerín was asked for his thoughts on the Gunners’ business in the transfer window, and whether the club had spent enough to succeed.

The Spanish international responded: “Football is not just about spending money. There are some clubs paying £100m and £200m on players but I do not think that’s the philosophy. The important thing is to build a good team, a good block and get results from there.

“Sometimes it takes time while other clubs use money. Each club has its own resources and its way of working. What matters is that on the pitch we give the maximum to prove that money is not everything.”

It’s hard for supporters to look at clubs like Manchester City spending £100m on a couple of full backs, and Chelsea and Liverpool spending £35m+ on the likes of Danny Drinkwater and Oxlade-Chamberlain and not be upset that the Gunners apparently can’t afford to make more than one monetary signing all window.

On the other hand, building a team through internal improvement does have its benefits in principle. If Arsenal could improve their team by letting the players grow towards their peak and gel with their teammates then this allows for the least amount of disruption.

A team like Manchester United have to integrate all their new signings. Of course, if they manage this quickly, like they seem to have done, then Arsenal’s advantage suddenly disappears. As Bellerin says, it’s up to the players on the pitch to prove that the philosophy Arsenal have can actually bring success.

Grandes rivalidades: Estados Unidos - México

El contexto que se vive en el clásico de la Concacaf es plasmado en el documental "Gringos at the Gate" (2013). Mira el tráiler:

Celtic fans raise more than £100,000 for Palestinian charities after flag protest

Football club facing fine by Uefa after fans displayed Palestinian flags during match against Israel’s Hapoel Be’er Sheva

The Guardian

Celtic fans have raised more than £100,000 for Palestinian charities in an attempt to match an impending Uefa fine for displaying Palestinian flags at a match against an Israeli team.

European football’s governing body began disciplinary proceedings against the Glasgow club last week after a number of fans displayed the flags during their 5-2 home victory against Hapoel Be’er Sheva in a Champions League qualifier.

The return leg is due to be played in Israel on Tuesday night.

The Green Brigade group of supporters set up an appeal on the gofundme website on Sunday to match the anticipated fine, and donations passed £80,000 on Tuesday morning.

The fans are raising money for Medical Aid Palestine, which delivers health and medical care to those “worst affected by conflict, occupation and displacement”, and the Lajee Centre, a cultural and sports project for children in Aida refugee camp, in Bethlehem.

The appeal read: “At the Champions League match with Hapoel Be’er Sheva on 17 August 2016, the Green Brigade and fans throughout Celtic Park flew the flag for Palestine. This act of solidarity has earned Celtic respect and acclaim throughout the world. It has also attracted a disciplinary charge from Uefa, which deems the Palestinian flag to be an ‘illicit banner’.

“In response to this petty and politically partisan act by European football’s governing body, we are determined to make a positive contribution to the game and today launch a campaign to #matchthefineforpalestine.”

The statement said the money raised would help buy football kit and equipment to enable the refugee camp to have a team, which would be called Aida Celtic, in the Bethlehem youth league.

Celtic face their ninth Uefa punishment for supporter behaviour in five years when the case is heard on 22 September. Two years ago the club was fined more than £15,000 after a Palestinian flag was displayed at a Champions League qualifier against KR Reykjavik.

Uefa rules forbid the use of “gestures, words, objects or any other means to transmit any message that is not fit for a sports event, particularly messages that are of a political, ideological, religious, offensive or provocative nature”.

Celtic fans for Palestine

Inmenso respaldo a Palestina en las tribunas del Celtic Glasgow

Aunque la UEFA ha prohibido la exhibición de banderas de Palestina en las competiciones europeas de fútbol, en el estadio del Celtic de Glasgow esta injusta medida recibió una respuesta contundente.

En el partido contra el Hapoel Beer Sheva de Israel, por la Liga de Campeones, la hinchada del Celtic portó cientos de banderas palestinas en apoyo a su pueblo. El club escocés podría ser sancionado.

Europa football champions Sevilla reject Israeli sponsorship millions

Sevilla FC reportedly rejected Israeli offer which would have doubled the money the Spanish club received from previous sponsor Malaysia

Ali Abunimah
The Electronic Intifada

The Spanish football club Sevilla has rejected a €5 million ($5.7 million) sponsorship deal to advertise tourism in Israel on its players’ shirts.

The 2015 UEFA Europa League champions turned down the offer due to the “political connotations” of appearing to support Israel, according to the Spanish sports publication Mundo Deportivo.

Club sources told the sports website ElDesmarque that the image Israeli sponsorship would project “could be detrimental to Sevilla, especially taking into account present political issues and sensibilities and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.”

The Israeli ministry of tourism offered Sevilla more than twice the sum it received in its last sponsorship agreement with Malaysia, according to a report in Israel’s Ynet.

In January 2009, Frédéric Kanouté, then one of Sevilla’s star players, was fined by the Spanish football federation for wearing a shirt with the word “Palestine” during a match against La Coruña.

It was a widely appreciated demonstration of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza who were at that time under massive bombardment by Israel.

As of now, Sevilla has not found a sponsor for the coming season, which means its players will take to the pitch with blank shirts, a blow to the Andalusian club’s finances, Mundo Deportivo says.

But it appears that even much-needed millions can’t tempt Sevilla to associate itself with Israel’s toxic brand – its signature massacres in Gaza, military occupation and settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank and mobs chanting “Death to the Arabs” in the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Leer noticia en español

Premier League fans set for ticket price protest this weekend

Supporters from all 20 Premier League clubs, as well as 10 from the Championship, will unite in protests across the country

Hamish Mackay
Mirror

Fans from across the UK are taking action this weekend over the continued rise of ticket prices in football.

Supporters from all 20 Premier League clubs, as well as 10 from the Championship, will unite in protests up and down the country.

A recent study found ticket prices in England's top flight to be the most expensive in the world, averaging at £53.67 per game (more than double the Bundesliga average).

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore previously acknowledged that away fans in particular are one of the division's "unique strengths", and the Football Supporters' Federation would like to see that reflected with a £20 cap on away tickets.

FSF chief executive Kevin Miles said: “Over the past 25 years money has flowed into football enriching players, owners, executives and agents – we think it’s about time fans saw some of the benefits too.

“Nine out of 10 fans feel that football is too expensive but fans’ loyalty and commitment to their clubs is being exploited.

“The impact of rising prices has been particularly felt by away fans at Premier League level, who also have to contend with high travel costs and kick-off times changed for TV, and that’s why we’ve focussed on away fans with our “Twenty’s Plenty” campaign.

“It’s not just the Premier League where we see high prices though - every week we hear from fans unhappy at ticket costs lower down the pyramid.

“The FSF believes that prices have to come down and on the first weekend in October, fans from across the country will deliver that message – get in touch with the FSF if you’d like to join in.”

"Refugees welcome"

Solidaridad desde el fútbol con los refugiados de las guerras imperialistas

St. Pauli y Borussia Dortmund

Arsenal

Bayern Munich

Oldenburg

FC United of Manchester

Diego Maradona to Run for FIFA Presidency

The Argentine legend has long-denounced corruption in the organization

By Telesur

Argentine soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona confirmed Sunday that he will run for FIFA's presidency, according to his friend and former co-host of a soccer show on teleSUR, Uruguayan journalist Victor Hugo Morales. “Diego will be candidate for FIFA (presidency), with all the authority he has, he has been in the front line fighting from that world of (soccer) players … Diego has been a spearhead to talk about corruption inside FIFA, and corruption within the AFA (Argentine Football Association),” revealed Morales, who currently hosts teleSUR's “De Chilena!” show. Morales confirmed the news in two tweets:

“I called Diego Maradona … He told me  that he was going to be a candidate to be FIFA president and he authorized be to communicate it”

“I AM A CANDIDATE”: those were the words that DIEGO MARADONA said to me when I asked him about being a candidate for FIFA president”

Maradona has been a longtime critic of FIFA and its policies. During the last World Cup, the former star denounced FIFA for charging US$2 million dollars in transmission rights to Haiti, a country struggling to recover from a devastating earthquake in 2010. FIFA has been mired in scandal since seven of its officials were arrested when Swiss police swooped into a luxury hotel in Zurich ahead of the congress. The officials are set to be extradited to the United States, where they are suspected of receiving close to US$150 million in bribes.

Last week, Swiss officials also said they were investigating 53 new suspected cases of money laundering linked to FIFA. “Partly in addition to the 104 banking relations already known to the authorities, banks announced 53 suspicious banking relations via the Anti-Money-Laundering-Framework of Switzerland,” the country's Attorney General Michael Lauber stated, according to AFP. Lauber praised banks for reporting the “suspicious” transactions, but said a full investigation could take years. Some of the financial transactions are allegedly linked to FIFA World Cup bids, including those for the 2018 and 2022 games. According to Lauber, the investigation “does not exclude” FIFA's outgoing head Joseph Blatter from possible questioning, though he isn't under suspicion. Blatter announced plans to resign from his position at the soccer organization just days after being re-appointed as its head on May 30 during FIFA's annual congress. He is expected to step down by the end of the year, though earlier this week Blatter hinted he may reconsider.

Third Thinking Football Film Festival

Bilbao, February 2015

Thinking Football Film Festival is a film and football festival with a social theme organized by the Athletic Club Foundation and Sala BBK, with the collaboration of the Bilbao City council. The festival will be taking place between the 9th and 14th of February 2015 at Sala BBK, with free admission to all screenings.

The 2015 edition will be Thinking Football Film Festival’s third edition. In it, ten documentary films originating from countries such as Brazil, France, Germany, the United States, Poland or United Kingdom will be presented. These films address the social and political role of soccer players and clubs; soccer as the articulator of social inclusion, the use of soccer by political authorities, et cetera. Most of these documentaries are yet unpublished in Spain and are presented in S.O.V.

As every year, thanks to the viewers’ participation, the Audience Award to the best film, endowed with an economic prize that the director of the winning film will have to donate to a social project related to the sport, will be awarded. Previous years’ winners are the films Football Rebels (Gilles Perez and Gilles Rof, France, 2012), in the 2013 edition, and Next Goal Wins (Mike Brett and Steve Jamison, England, 2014) in 2014.

Livorno and communism

The Amaranto’s fans have led fundraising initiatives after earthquakes in L’Aquila and Haiti, voiced their sympathy with Palestinian and Irish nationalists and unveiled birthday messages to Joseph Stalin and Fidel Castro.

By Greg Lea

At first glance, a trip to Livorno’s Stadio Armando Picchi appears to be an ordinary footballing experience. The 19,000-capacity arena may rarely sell out, but the area behind one goal is invariably densely populated with Livorno’s most vociferous followers, who congregate there to sing songs, display banners and wave flags.

So far, so normal. Yet on closer inspection, there is nothing conventional about Livorno’s supporters at all. The songs they sing do not just hail their star striker’s goalscoring abilities, they praise Che Guevara’s revolutionary spirit. The banners they display do not just disparage their rivals, they express solidarity with their employment troubles. The flags they wave are not Tuscan or Italian, but Cuban and Soviet Russian. Livorno fans are proudly Communist, and their home matches are used as an opportunity to show it.

Italy only became a united nation in 1861, and Livorno’s own history is perfectly representative of the country’s previous existence as a patchwork of competing city-states ruled by different dynasties. Built as a coastal fortress to protect the powerful Pisans from attack in the eleventh century, Livorno went on to be owned by Genoa and Florence before becoming a city in its own right.

It was in its period under Florentine ownership that today’s left-leaning political tendencies began to surface: the Medici family, who ruled the Republic of Florence for four centuries from the 1300s, built a new port in Livorno to improve trade and encouraged merchant workers from any background to move into the city and make it their home. Jews, Turks, Persians, Moors, Greeks and Armenians all did exactly that, creating a cosmopolitan mix of different ethnicities and religions; despite the diverse backgrounds, a strong sense of camaraderie and unity was soon fostered among the new Livornese citizens, the majority of whom worked long, hard days as dockers or fishermen. The workers were not afraid to protest against their wealthy bosses if they felt they were being unfairly treated, and when the unification of Italy led to Livorno losing its status as a free port, the people of the city demonstrated their inclination for activism by vocally challenging the decision in public.

It was within this political setting and social context that the Italian Communist Party formed in Livorno in 1921. Antonio Gramsci and Amadeo Bordiga, disenchanted members of the Partito Socialista, broke away to form the new group, deliberately choosing a birthplace where their cause would garner instant support. The party was banned by Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime a few years later, but went on – along with the city of its inception – to play a key role in the nation’s resistance movement. Even today, Livorno regularly elects far-left candidates in both regional and national ballots, its socialist identity now firmly entrenched.

The politicisation of football fan groups in Italy is a direct result of the country’s regionalism and post-Second World War history. From 1946 to 1992, the Christian Democratic party won the most votes in every single election for both of the country’s legislative chambers, their centrist positioning and catch-all nature allowing them to appeal to constituents from right across the political spectrum.

As time wore on, this led to disillusionment and frustration among sections of the electorate: the broad church setup of the Christian Democrats combined with the inevitability of their success meant that citizens felt their views were not being truly represented, and everyday life became increasingly politicised as people sought other outlets for their ideological beliefs. Football became one of the principal vehicles for expression, and clubs’ ultras began to revive or intensify political identities based on their town or city’s unique social history.

This helps to explain the atmosphere at Livorno matches, which are about far more than just the football. Aside from the aforementioned songs, banners and flags, the Amaranto’s fans have led fundraising initiatives after earthquakes in L’Aquila and Haiti, voiced their sympathy with Palestinian and Irish nationalists and unveiled birthday messages to Joseph Stalin and Fidel Castro. They have also developed friendships with the fellow left-wing fanbases of Marseille, Besiktas, St Pauli, Celtic and AEK Athens, while fierce rivalries exist with Italian sides Lazio and Verona, whose followers tend to be on the far-right. These relationships reinforce Livorno’s political character, and it is now very difficult to envisage a dilution or fragmentation of their collective identity.

Most young fans dream of one day representing their childhood club, and Cristiano Lucarelli was no exception. Born in Livorno in 1975, Lucarelli realised his lifelong ambition in 2003 when he signed for his hometown club from Torino, taking a £350,000 pay cut and dropping down a division to do so. “Some players buy a yacht or Ferrari [with their wages]”, the striker explained shortly after joining. “I just bought a Livorno shirt”.

Lucarelli was a hero to the Livornese public not just because of his on-field exploits – the target man netted 102 goals in 174 league games across two spells – but due to his political and social beliefs and willingness to voice them.  He introduced himself to the Italian public by revealing a Che Guevara t-shirt after scoring in an under-21 international against Moldova, an action that saw him ostracised from the Italy setup as the football authorities tried to steer clear of unnecessary controversy.

A particularly good domestic performance was dedicated to 400 sacked Florentine factory workers, meanwhile, and the number 99 jersey Lucarelli – who used the socialist anthem ‘Red Flag’ as his ringtone – adorned at Livorno was a tribute to the club’s leftist ultra group, the Brigate Autonome Livornese, who were formed in 1999. Lucarelli was the perfect embodiment of what it meant to be from Livorno, and the fans loved him for it.

Relegated back to Serie B from Italy’s top-flight last season, Livorno and their fans will be under much less scrutiny this campaign. Their worshipping of Castro and Guevara and pledges of solidarity with proletarians across the world are definitely not for show, though, and the dogmatic affirmations would likely continue even if they were the only people inside the stadium.

The fans’ actions have occasionally landed the club in trouble in the past – the booing by some supporters during a tribute to Italian troops killed in Iraq led to widespread condemnation, despite Livorno fans insisting that they were merely voicing their disapproval at Italy’s involvement in the war – but, for better or worse, the Amaranto are unlikely to tone down their public avowals of the Livornese political creed any time soon. The football may not always sparkle and Livorno certainly lose their fair share of games but, according to the club’s followers and the famous Chilean communist song, ‘the people united will never be defeated’.

Borussia Dortmund fans make incredible stand against racism

Borussia Dortmund supporters receive praise for huge anti-discrimination tifos

By Eurosport

And times, by their standards, are currently tough, with Juergen Klopp's side struggling in the Bundesliga.

But that didn't stop the home fans unveiling several huge tifos during the match against Hannover, attacking racists, Nazis and homophobes in football, making it perfectly clear that discrimination will not be tolerated by these ultras.

The statement is particularly pertinent at a time when far-right parties are on the rise in Europe. Of course Germany's history makes it a particularly sensitive topic for them.

Dortmund's fans even received a DFB award for their behaviour, with the club explaining the stance in detail on its website:

"During last weekend’s home game against Hannover 96, BVB fans made a clear statement against right-wing extremism.
"In the away game in Cologne, BVB fans were already holding up posters with clear messages against xenophobia and discrimination. Whether these banners were from individuals or groups doesn’t matter at all.

"What is important is the message, which is strongly welcomed by BVB’s fan and funding department."

FIFA continues to talk World Cup turf, players' lawyer wants to discuss alternatives

By Neil Davidson
The Canadian Press

Alex Morgan

Lawyers for a group of elite players opposed to playing the 2015 Women's World Cup on artificial turf say FIFA's own timetable shows there is plenty of time to resolve the issue ahead of the showcase soccer tournament.

Lawyer Hampton Dellinger pointed to a story on the FIFA website on the FIFA inspection tour that wrapped up Tuesday in Vancouver that said "all certification steps for stadium pitches are expected to be completed by early 2015."

That "supports our position that there's plenty of time to come up with a reasonable solution," Dellinger said in an interview.

"They can't say today that these fields are acceptable," he added. "So that really, in a way, provides an opportunity for the two sides to come together as we have tried to do, and work this out."

As the inspection tour concluded, FIFA gave a thumbs-up to Canada's tournament preparations.

"Canada is well on track," said Tatjana Haenni, FIFA's deputy director of the competitions division and head of women's competitions.

"We've inspected the six stadiums, and overall, we are pleased with Canada's readiness."

The tour, which included stops in Ottawa, Moncton, Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver, took place against a backdrop of protest over artificial turf.

The group of players filed a lawsuit with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal claiming that playing the tournament on artificial grass amounts to gender discrimination under Canadian law. Men have always played the World Cup on natural grass surfaces.

FIFA, meanwhile, took advantage of the Canadian inspection tour to reiterate that the tournament will be played on approved artificial playing surfaces.

"We play on artificial turf and there's no Plan B,'' Haenni told The Canadian Press.

The players' brief suggests that tournament venues in Vancouver (B.C. Place Stadium), Edmonton (Commonwealth Stadium), Ottawa (TD Place Stadium) and Winnipeg (Investors Group Field) replace their turf with permanent or temporary grass pitches.

Games at Olympic Stadium in Montreal should be moved to Saputo Stadium, which has real grass, or a temporary grass surface could be installed. The brief also calls for a temporary grass surface at Moncton Stadium.

The players' side say it would cost $2 million to $3 million at most.

And Rocky Collis, a member of Dellinger's legal team, said solutions to the turf issue could be accomplished in some three months. "So we have plenty of time before next summer's World Cup," he added.

FIFA, however, seems set in its approach.

The story Tuesday on the FIFA website said "quality football turf is an essential component of this competition and the NOC's (national organizing committee) efforts to promote and grow the beautiful game in Canada."

An independent consultant accompanied the FIFA delegation in Canada to inspect the six stadiums' playing surfaces to ensure they meet FIFA's football turf requirements.

"Additionally, the NOC has engaged a certified testing agency, which is currently testing all stadium pitches to ensure that the performance standards of the FIFA 2-Star program are met in all venues," said the FIFA story.

Peter Montopoli, CEO of the national organizing committee and general secretary of the Canadian Soccer Association, was quoted on the FIFA website saying the 24 World Cup teams "will benefit from consistent, quality playing surfaces ensuring an equitable opportunity to achieve their best performance."

The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has given FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association a Thursday deadline to respond to the players' request for an expedited hearing.

The tribunal may still deny the players' request for a fast-tracked hearing. It has also asked the CSA and FIFA to file their response to the players' complaint by Nov. 6.

"We hope and assume that FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association won't seek to delay or engage in gamesmanship or stalling tactics," said Dellinger. "Surely they must have thought about how they could defend what we think is insensible. And I think they owe it not only to the players and of course the tribunal but to the public to explain why in the world they want to put a World Cup on a second-class surface."

The European Synthetic Turf Organization weighed in last Friday. The trade and consumer body for synthetic turf issued a news release from Brussels to disagree with the players' lawsuit.

"There is no discrimination. More that synthetic turf improves access and performance at all levels and genders," the release said.

North Korea beat South to make final

Asian Games/Football

North Korea beat hosts and arch-rivals South Korea 2-1 with an injury-time goal Monday to set up a priceless chance for revenge against Japan in the Asian Games women's football final.

Substitute Ho Un-Byol seized on a defensive error to fire in the winning goal just seconds from the end. North Korean tears of joy were matched by the South's cries of desperation.

Japan hammered Vietnam 3-0 in their semi-final.

A bizarrely divided Korean crowd cheered on the two sides as they met for the first time in an Asian Games semi-final.

About 1,000 older supporters of the South Korean hosts were matched by another 1,000 middle-aged members of a cheer squad for North Korea and demanding reunification of the peninsula torn apart since the 1950-53 Korean War.

AFP

A Celtic message to Palestine

Football fans known for identifying with left-wing Irish causes express solidarity with hunger strikers in Israeli jail.

Andrew McFadyen
Aljazeera

On the final day of the Scottish football season, one of the biggest crowds in Europe turned up to watch Celtic FC being crowned champions.

Nearly 60,000 fans danced and sang as their heroes demolished Edinburgh club Heart of Midlothian 5-0. Anthems such as "You’ll Never Walk Alone" and "The Celtic Song" mingled with tributes to players past and present.

Then something different happened. For a few minutes, in one corner of the stadium, a flurry of Palestinian flags flew proudly amidst the green and white colours of the home supporters.

A banner appeared reading: "Dignity is More Precious than Food."

This display of support for Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli jails was organised by members of the Green Brigade, a well-known "ultras" group who describe themselves as left-wing, anti-racist and anti-sectarian.

An unnamed spokesman told the "We are all Hana Shalabi" website: "We did this in solidarity, to raise awareness and because it's the right thing to do. We want Palestinians to know we are thinking about them and encourage Scottish civil society to look at the injustice in Palestine."

Palestinian and Basque flags have been flown at Celtic Park since at least the 1980s. Celtic's identification with left-wing causes is said to reflect the sometimes bitter experience of the Scots-Irish community from which it sprang.

For most of the 20th century, Irish immigrants to Scotland faced prejudice and discrimination. Catholics were excluded from skilled trades and denied jobs in many of Glasgow's shipyards and engineering workshops.

Celtic's great rivals, Rangers, the club of the Scottish Protestant establishment, reflected this intolerance with their own sectarian signing policy - refusing to enlist Catholic players - a policy which continued well into the 1980s.

Historian David Potter, who has written over 20 books about Celtic, told Al Jazeera that their success "provided a rallying point for the Irish community and gave them their self-respect".

Many Celtic fans today regard the Palestinian struggle for national freedom and equality as similar to their own.

Potter commented: "Ulster and Israel are similarly artificially created states. They were created by the British as an attempt to retain their influence, even if this was at the expense of naked and brutal suppression of those who disagreed."

On the other side of the city, Rangers fans fly the Israeli flag alongside the Union Jack.

Some Ulster Unionists make a connection between their own minority status on the island of Ireland and Israel, standing alone against its foes in a hostile region.

Other Rangers supporters fly the Star of David as a tribute to the club's former Israeli defender, Avi Cohen, who died tragically young in a motorcycle accident in 2010.

However, Alasdair McKillop from the Rangers Supporters Trust says the Israeli flags at Ibrox are largely a manifestation of the tit-for-tat dynamics of Glasgow's intense football rivalry.

He told Al Jazeera: "I don't think many Rangers fans would list 'support for Israel' if you asked them what they thought it meant to be a Rangers fan. But in the world of Rangers and Celtic, every action has an equal and opposite reaction."

The sporting significance of this cultural divide is likely to grow, as Palestine's national team attempts to qualify for major tournaments and Israel looks forward to hosting the UEFA Under-23 Championship in 2013.

Palestine was accepted as a FIFA member in 1998, after the creation of the Palestinian Authority. Nabhan Khraishi, spokesman for the Palestinian Football Association, said they are "using sport to deliver a message to the world".

A national team is a powerful symbol among a nation without a state, but progress has been difficult. In 2009, three Palestinian footballers, Ayman Alkurd, Shadi Sbakhe and Wajeh Moshtahe were among those killed during the bombing of Gaza.

The National Stadium and the offices of the Palestinian Football Association were also destroyed.

"We are facing harassment from the Israelis," Khraishi told Al Jazeera. "Our players - and even our technical teams - are not allowed to move freely between Gaza and the West Bank, and are held up at international borders."

When Palestine played their first competitive home international last year, an Olympic qualifier against Thailand, eight Gaza-based players were stopped from making the short journey to Ramallah for the match.

"We are asking international organisations to pressure Israel to allow us freedom of movement," said Khraishi. "We are appealing to all sports clubs to stand with us."

Amir Ofek, press attache at the Israeli embassy in London, denied that Israel was deliberately targeting players. He told Al Jazeera that "almost-daily missile attacks" launched on Israel from Gaza were the only reason for imposing travel restrictions on Palestinians.

He added that Israel had the right to control who and what entered the Palestinian territories because of the security situation - and that it had to conduct checks to stop materials being brought in that could potentially be used for "hostile activity".

Most pressing of all is the case of Palestinian footballer, Mahmoud Sarsak, whose life is said to be at grave risk after beginning a hunger strike on March 19.

Sarsak is one of 300 Palestinian prisoners being held under "administrative detention", a procedure used to hold suspects for potentially unlimited time without trial.

He has been in Israeli custody since July 2009, when he was detained at a checkpoint as he travelled from his home in Gaza to join the Palestinian national squad for a match at the Balata Refugee Camp in the northern West Bank.

The recent wave of hunger strikes by Palestinian prisoners has mobilised widespread support and cut across differences of faith and geography. There are now wider calls from civic Scotland for a sporting boycott of Israel.

Pauline McNeill, a former member of the Scottish parliament and a prominent pro-Palestinian activist, told Al Jazeera that UEFA should reconsider its decision to hold its Under-23 Championship in Israel in 2013.

"Nelson Mandela said the sporting boycott was hugely significant in breaking the Apartheid Regime in South Africa," she said. "I believe it is time to make a stand that this is unacceptable. Amongst other things I believe that UEFA should not endorse the actions of Israel by playing the tournament in Israel as if it's just business as usual."

The new Scottish football season kicks-off in August. There are growing fears that Mahmoud Sarsak may never play again.

*Publicado originalmente en www.aljazeera.com en junio del 2012

Hinchas solidarios con Palestina

Manifestaciones de apoyo al pueblo palestino de parte de hinchadas de fútbol de todo el mundo. 

La solidaridad presente en las tribunas luego del criminal ataque de Israel contra el pueblo de la Franja de Gaza, que deja cientos de víctimas mortales.

Cliftonville FC, Belfast

"Stop the genocide in Gaza". Gate 9 (Omonia)

"Free Palestine". Green Brigade (Celtic)

"Free Gaza". Kolectivo Sur (Xerez Deportivo)

"Palestina resiste". Rexixtenxia Norte (Medellín)

"From the river to the sea. Palestina will be free". (Ultras del Al Ahly)

"Palestina resiste". La Guardia (Santa Fe)

"Palestina libre". (Hinchas de Millonarios)

"Free Palestine". (Paok)

"Gooners against apartheid". (Hinchas de Arsenal)

Si tienes más fotos de solidaridad con Palestina, puedes enviarlas a futbolrebelde@gmail.com

Refugiados de Medio Oriente se unen por el fútbol

El fútbol rompe barreras entre jóvenes palestinos, sirios y jordanos en el campo de refugiados de Baqa'a, Jordania.

Por Oxfam

En junio de 2014, un grupo de trabajadores y trabajadoras de Oxfam organizó en Jordania un torneo de fútbol para los jóvenes del campo de refugiados palestinos en Baqa'a y sus alrededores. En las últimas semanas, la fiebre por la Copa Mundial de Fútbol ha invadido el mundo entero. Sin embargo, para estos jugadores, hay mucho más en juego que un simple trofeo. Con este vídeo comprenderás por qué...

La crisis de refugiados provocada por el conflicto que asola Siria está teniendo un enorme impacto social en los países vecinos. En un intento de fortalecer la confianza y la amistad entre tres comunidades distintas que ahora viven muy cerca y se ven obligadas a compartir unos recursos muy limitados, Oxfam invitó a chicos de la comunidad jordana local y de las comunidades de refugiados de Siria y Palestina a participar en este torneo.

Jordania se ha convertido en el hogar de casi 600.000 refugiados que han huido del brutal conflicto de Siria y la presión que esto ha supuesto en las infraestructuras y servicios públicos del país es manifiesta.

Aunque las noticias a menudo muestran imágenes del atestado campo de Za'atari, más del 80% de las personas que han cruzado la frontera vive en comunidades de acogida, fuera del campo de refugiados. Los refugiados sirios que viven en los alrededores de las ciudades y de los pueblos no pueden trabajar y, por tanto, se ven obligados a depender de la ayuda humanitaria. En estas circunstancias, no existe un entorno tranquilo en el que los niños y las niñas puedan jugar, reír y hacer nuevas amistades.

Darles la oportunidad de conversar, correr y competir entre ellos les aleja momentáneamente de las presiones del mundo de adultos y de divisiones que les rodea. No importa qué equipo gane. Todos los niños terminan el día con una sonrisa en su rostro.

Madureira 2013 W A Sport Special Edition 'Che Guevara' Football Shirts

The shirts - consisting of a maroon outfield version and a Cuban flag-themed style for the goalkeepers and both carrying the iconic graphic of the Cuban revolutionary leader, Che Guevara - have been released to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Madureira Esporte Clube's tour of Cuba in 1963.  The years appear on the Brazilian third division team's collars and the sleeve features the Brazilian and Cuban flags as a small detail.

The Rio de Janeiro side's players met with Guevara in '63, as the Argentine-by-birth fan of Rosario Central came to watch one of the tour matches.

Source: footballshirtculture.com

The War on Palestinian Soccer

Free Mahmoud Sarsak!

By Ramzy Baroud*
CounterPunch

On June 3, Palestinian national soccer team member Mahmoud Sarsak completed 80 days of a grueling hunger-strike. He had sustained the strike despite the fact that nearly 2,000 Palestinian inmates had called off their own 28-day hunger strike weeks ago.

Although the story of Palestinian prisoners in Israel speaks to a common reality of unlawful detentions and widespread mistreatment, Sarsak’s fate can also be viewed within its own unique context. The soccer player, who once sought to take the name and flag of his nation to international arenas, was arrested by Israeli soldiers in July 2009 while en route to join the national team in the West Bank.

Sarsak was branded an ‘illegal combatant’ by Israel’s military judicial system, and was since imprisoned without any charges or trial.

Sarsak is not alone in the continued hunger strike. Akram al-Rekhawi, a diabetic prisoner demanding proper medical care, has refused food for over 60 days.

At the time of writing of this article, both men were reportedly in dire medical condition. Sarsak, once of unmatched athletic built, is now gaunt beyond recognition. The already ill al-Rekhawi is dying.

According to rights groups, an Israeli court on May 30 granted prison doctors 12 more days before allowing independent doctors to visit the prisoners, further prolonging their suffering and isolation. Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHRI), which has done a remarkable job battling the draconian rules of Israeli military courts, continues to petition the court to meet with both al-Sarsak and al-Rekhawi, according to Ma’an news agency.

Sadly, the story here becomes typical. PHRI, along with other prisoners’ rights groups, are doing all that civil society organizations can do within such an oppressive legal and political situation. Families are praying. Social media activists are sending constant updates and declaring solidarity. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is merely looking on – not due to any lack of concern for human rights, but due to the selective sympathy of Western governments and media.

Think of the uproar made by US media over the fate of blind Chinese political activist Chen Guangcheng. When he took shelter in the US embassy in Beijing, a near-diplomatic crisis ensued. Guangcheng was finally flown to the US on May 19, and he recently delivered a talk in New York before an astounded audience.

“The 40-year-old, blind activist said that his lengthy detention (of seven years) demonstrates that lawlessness is still the norm in China,” reported the New York Post on May 31. “Is there any justice? Is there any rationale in any of this?” Chen asked. Few in the US media would contend with the statement. But somehow the logic becomes entirely irrelevant when the perpetrator of injustice is Israel, and the victim is a Palestinian. Al-Rekhawi is not blind, but he has many medical ailments. He has been in Ramle prison clinic since his detention in 2004, receiving severely inadequate medical care.

Sarsak, who has been a witness to many tragedies, is now becoming one. The 25-year old had once hoped to push the ranking of his national team back to a reasonable standing. If Palestinians ever deserve to be called ‘fanatics’, it would be in reference to soccer. As a child growing up in Gaza, I remember playing soccer in few minute increments, braving Israeli military curfews, risking arrests, injury and even death. Somehow, in a very crowded refugee camp, soccer becomes tantamount to freedom.

Palestine’s ranking at 164th in the world is testament not to any lack of passion for the game, but to the constant Israeli attempts at destroying even that national aspiration.

The examples of Israeli war on Palestinian soccer are too many to count, although most of them receive little or no media coverage whatsoever. In 2004 Israel blocked several essential players from accompanying the national team out of Gaza for a second match against Chinese Taipei. (Palestine had won the first match 8-0.) The obstacles culminated in the March 2006 bombing of the Palestinian Football Stadium in Gaza, which reduced the grass field to a massive crater. Then, in the war on Gaza (Cast Lead 2008-09), things turned bloody as Israel killed three national soccer players: Ayman Alkurd, Shadi Sbakhe and Wajeh Moshtahe. It also bombed their stadium again.

Sarsak was a promising new face of Palestinian soccer. In times of Palestinian disunity and factionalism, it was the national team that kept a symbolic unity between Gaza and the West Bank – and indeed Palestinians everywhere. These young men exemplify hope that better times are ahead. But Sarsak’s star is now fading, as is his life. His mother, who hasn’t seen him since his arrests, told Ma’an that she thinks of him every minute of each day. “Why is there no one moving to save his life?” she asked.

Writing in the Nation on May 10, Dave Zirin wrote, “Imagine if a member of Team USA Basketball—let’s say Kobe Bryant—had been traveling to an international tournament only to be seized by a foreign government and held in prison for three years without trial or even hearing the charges for which he was imprisoned…Chances are all the powerful international sports organizations—the IOC, FIFA—would treat the jailing nation as a pariah until Kobe was free. And chances are that even Laker-haters would wear buttons that read, ‘Free Kobe.’”

Sarsak is the Bryant of his people. But ask any political commentator and he will tell you why Mohmoud Sarsak is not Kobe Bryant, and why Al-Rekhawi is not Chen. It is the same prevalent logic of a powerful Washington-based pro-Israel lobby and all the rest. Even if the logic was founded, why are international sports institutions not standing in complete solidarity with the dying Sarsak? Why don’t soccer matches include a moment of solidarity with killed Palestinian players, and the dying young man aching to join his teammates on the field once more? Why is Israel not fully and comprehensively boycotted by every international sports organization?

“As long as Sarsak remains indefinitely detained and as long as Israel targets sport and athletes as legitimate targets of war, they have no business being rewarded by FIFA or the UEFA, let alone even being a part of the community of international sports,” wrote Zirin.

It would be a belated step, but an unequivocally urgent one, for Palestinian sportsmen are literally dying.

*Ramzy Baroud is editor of PalestineChronicle.com. He is the author of The Second Palestinian Intifada: A Chronicle of a People’s Struggle and “My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story” (Pluto Press, London).

Sports committee of PFLP calls for freedom for Mahmoud Sarsak

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

The sports committee of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine called for a broad campaign of solidarity with Palestinian prisoner and international football player on the Palestinian team, Mahmoud Sarsak, on his 39th day of hunger strike protesting his arrest.

Sarsak has been held by the Zionist occupation forces since he came to the West Bank from the Gaza Strip, three years ago, to join the Palestinian soccer team. Sarsak spent his detention without trial, indictment or conviction, and has been administratively detained, labelled an “illegal combatant” since that time.

The sports committee said that Sarsak represents a national athlete and a brave symbol of Palestine, as well as the ugly practices faced by prisoners inside the occupation jails. The PFLP delegation joined a tent of solidarity in Rafah alongside Sarsak’s family and the National and Islamic Forces, praising his steadfastness and urging that his suffering must end.

Sports and the struggle for socialism

A window into class society

By Dylan Wilkerson

Why is the Party for Socialism and Liberation, a party of dedicated communist revolutionaries, putting a sports column on-line?

Many progressive-minded people have an understandable revulsion to professional sports. Between the Air Force fly-overs, “God Bless America” renditions, and the sometimes overwhelming racist and reactionary tone of the majority of sports journalists, professional sports can seem like a catalog of capitalist society’s contradictions.

Professional sports are a media spectacle to be sure. Every year, millions of workers in the United States turn their attention to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the World Series, and other prominent athletic events. These events are huge money makers for the capitalist class. Billions of dollars change hands as corporations vie for the best advertising slots, the most prominent billboard advertisements along the field, the biggest star’s endorsement of their newest shoes, and so on.

Under capitalism, sports and other recreational enterprises are channeled into professional sports. The athletes are paid by owners who hire them to make a profit. The people, including those who enjoyed directly participating in organized athletics when they were young, are transformed almost exclusively into spectators. A socialist society would allocate resources to allow for the continued mass participation in athletics rather than relegating people to the position of pure spectator.

Sports, like so many different aspects of class society, have a contradictory character. Because of these contradictions, the spectacle of professional and amateur sports can and has been used as a platform and symbol of the struggle of oppressed people for emancipation.

During the 1960s and 70s, millions of African American workers were actively engaged in a struggle against the intense racism of American society. The civil rights and Black power movements helped politicize huge sectors of the American working class. In this historical context, great athletes like Muhammad Ali, Roberto Clemente, Tommie Smith and John Carlos inspired people across the world with their uncompromising solidarity with the oppressed. These sports heroes were often strong advocates in the struggle against racism.

The defeat of segregation in baseball

Athletics were still completely racially segregated just years earlier. As they had been for decades, “big league” sports were a white-only enterprise run by the racist capitalist class. Many white sports fans didn’t question this, but for the Black community and some whites this was a point of searing outrage and the focus of anti-racist organizing.

The first cracks in the world of sports apartheid came in baseball. Well past the first half of the twentieth century, baseball was unquestionably the most prominent professional sport in the United States. “America’s pastime” did not escape the suffocating racism of Jim Crow.

It was the home grown version of apartheid that barred Black players from the so-called Major Leagues. Some of the most prominent and talented baseball stars competed in three Black-only major league circuits in the 1930s and 1940s. In 1935, the Pittsburgh Crawfords’ lineup, a Negro League team, showcased the talents of no fewer than five future Hall-Of-Famers—Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, Judy Johnson and Oscar Charleston.

It was the pressure from the Black community and the communist movement in the United States that ultimately broke the so-called “color line” in baseball. Some enlightened baseball capitalists also realized that the pool of talent in Black baseball could be accessed for their own success and profit.

When baseball began the process of integration in 1947, it was one of the country’s first signals of the social and political changes to come. The sight of African American player Jackie Robinson in Dodger blue helped inspire and embolden Black people across the country to demand greater equality in their lives and workplaces.

Labor and capital

In modern American society, workers often have very few viable options ahead of them for professional and financial advancement. The day-to-day reality of working-class life largely shatters the bourgeois myth of “upward mobility.”

Most workers have few options: prison, the military, gangs, tedious and strenuous labor, or the tiny possibility of wealth and stardom afforded by a career in pro sports. Capitalist advertisers and journalists bombard workers with images of the glory, power and prestige of superstar athletes. This is, of course, primarily marketing, but it also motivates workers to place their hopes of success in a field where only a very small handful are afforded the opportunity to succeed.

For this writer, the importance of sports is both personal and political. The love of sports, the beauty and power of athletic drama, greatly excites me and takes more of my attention than some people close to me would like. But there is a greater reason to pay attention to sports with a regular column. Sports are a huge part of our society, and this website seeks to interact with and critique what is happening in the world with a new immediacy and a Marxist analysis. We need to reach out to our fellow workers in any way we can. Sports provide a window into the best and worst of our world, our culture, our moment in time.

This is the first column. In weeks to come, each column will focus on specific stories in the world of sports. I hope that bringing a Marxist critique to sports will inspire sports fans to look at the world with a critical mind and to join the struggle for change, the struggle for socialism.

Source: LiberationNews.org